Frank Frazetta · Obituaries

Rest in Peace: Frank Frazetta (1928 – 2010)

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BREAKING NEWS, 10 May 2010:

As reported this hour by Mike Gold…

Another site, The Beat, has confirmed, via Frazetta’s agent, Rob Pistella, that the cause of death was a stroke.

Pocono Record: Artist Frank Frazetta dead of stroke — funeral arrangements to be announced.

New York Times > “Arts Beat”: Frank Frazetta, Fantasy Illustrator, Dies at 82

Here’s a short notice, distributed through the Associated Press, that so far has appeared, under slightly different headlines, in both the Chicago Tribune (“Manager: Fantasy artist Frank Frazetta dies in Fla. hospital at 82 after suffering stroke”) and the Los Angeles Times (“Frank Frazetta, renowned for sci-fi and fantasy art, dies at 82”):

(AP) — Pioneering fantasy artist Frank Frazetta has died in a Fort Myers, Fla., hospital. He was 82.

Manager Rob Pistella says Frazetta died Monday morning, a day after suffering a stroke. He says Frazetta had been out to dinner with his daughters Sunday before falling ill.

Frazetta is renowned for his sci-fi and fantasy art. He created covers and illustrations for more than 150 books and comic books, including Conan the Barbarian and Tarzan.

Daughter Heidi Frazetta Grabin says she is hopeful that a dispute among siblings over their father’s artwork has been resolved through recent negotiations.

Son Frank Frazetta was charged in December with using a backhoe to break into the artist’s museum in the Poconos and trying to remove dozens of paintings.

FORMAL OBITUARIES:

The Comics Reporter: Frank Frazetta, 1928-2010 by Tom Spurgeon

Los Angeles Times: Frank Frazetta dies at 82; renowned fantasy illustrator by Geoff Boucher

Los Angeles Times: Guillermo del Toro on Frank Frazetta: “He gave the world a new pantheon of heroes” by Geoff Boucher — “Guillermo del Toro, Neal Adams and John Milius remember Frank Frazetta in this longer version of the obituary I [Geoff Boucher] wrote for Tuesday’s edition of the Los Angeles Times.”

New York Times: Frank Frazetta, Illustrator, Dies at 82; Helped Define Comic Book Heroes by Bruce Weber and Dave Itzkoff

Pocono Record: Frank Frazetta, master of fantasy art, dead at 82 by Howard Frank

The Washington Post: A sorcerer’s farewell: RIP, Frank Frazetta, master of fantasy illustration by Michael Cavna

INTERVIEW:

The Comics Journal: Frank Frazetta Interview — posted by Gary Groth on May 10th, 2010 at 5:57 PM, this lengthy 1994 interview was originally conducted for The Comics Journal #174 and was later reprinted in The Comics Journal Library: Classic Comics Illustrators.

MEMORIAL GALLERIES:

The Comic Book Catacombs: Frank Frazetta Tribute: Thun’da in “When the Earth Shook” (ME;1952), posted by Chuck Wells

Comic Book Resources: Frazetta Tribute – His Warren Covers and a Shining Knight Story, posted by Brian Cronin

Easily Mused: Frank Frazetta’s “Dan Brand and Tipi”, posted by John Glenn Taylor

The Fabulous Fifties: Ace’s Trump, posted by Ger Apeldoorn — a selection of Frazetta’s Johnny Comet and Ace McCoy strips from 1952.

Golden Age Comic Book Stories: Frank Frazetta, February 9, 1928 ~ May 10, 2010, The Buck Rogers ~ Famous Funnies cover illustrations, posted by Mr. Door Tree

Golden Age Comic Book Stories: Frank Frazetta, February 9, 1928 ~ May 10, 2010, The Conan Paintings, posted by Mr. Door Tree

Golden Age Comic Book Stories: Frank Frazetta: Burroughs Artist Frank Frazetta Portfolio, posted by Mr. Door Tree

Golden Age Comic Book Stories: Frank Frazetta: The Ace Edgar Rice Burroughs Paintings, posted by Mr. Door Tree

Golden Age Comic Book Stories: Frank Frazetta, 1928 ~ 2010: Some of the finest art to ever be printed in the comic books!, posted by Mr. Door Tree

Golden Age Comic Book Stories: Frank Frazetta and Al Williamson: a handful of their collaborations, posted by Mr. Door Tree
HoustonPress: Eight Memorable Frank Frazetta Album Covers, posted by Jef With One F

The Magic Whistle: My Frazetta Preference, posted by Sam Henderson

The Pictorial Arts: The Passing of Frazetta, Frazetta Treasure, Savage Pellucidar, posted by Thomas Haller Buchanan

Rip Jagger’s Dojo: Frank Frazetta RIP by Rip Jagger — includes scans of Frazetta’s Conan paperback covers for Lancer.

Rip Jagger’s Dojo: Frazetta’s Ghost Rider, posted by Rip Jagger — a gallery of Frazetta’s Ghost Rider covers.

Some Came Running: Frazetta, posted by Glenn Kenny — selected movie posters.

Super I.T.C.H.: Frazetta’s Hucky Duck, D. J. David B. Spins Comics-Tunes: Frank Frazetta

OTHER NOTICES AND TRIBUTES:

The American Culture: Frank Frazetta, 1928-2010 by fantasy novelist Lars Walker

The Beat: The Frazetta Legacy by Heidi “The Beat” MacDonald

Booksteve’s Library: RIP — Frank Frazetta by Steven “Booksteve” Thompson

Comic Book Brain: Frank Frazetta, 1928 – 2010: An Appreciation by Erik Weems

The Comic Book Catacombs: In Memoriam: Frank Frazetta by Chuck Wells

The Comics Journal: Fantasy’s Michelangelo: An Appreciation by Kenneth Smith — this article was originally published in The Comics Journal #174 (1994).

Dispatches: How I Didn’t Team Up with Frank Frazetta by James Vance

Eddit: Dear Frazetta by Eddie Wilson

The Fies Files: Frank Frazetta by Brian Fies

Illustration Art: A Few Thoughts on an Empty Studio by David Apatoff (also posted at Tor.com)

Lines and Colors: Frank Frazetta by Charley Parker

Los Angeles Times: Frank Frazetta painted with fire on a timeless canvas by Lance Laspina, producer and director of the 2003 documentary Frazetta: Painting with Fire

Newsarama: Comic Book Artists Remember FRANK FRAZETTA by various

The Online World of Timothy Bradstreet: Painting Has Lost Its Flame — Frazetta R.I.P. by Timothy Bradstreet

Paladin Freelance: The Grey God Passes… by Dominic

Pocono Record: Frazetta’s place in fantasy art history secure by Adam McNaughton

The Return to Innocence: Goodbye, Frank Frazetta by rosefox8, who writes, “Confession time. It was the work of Frank Frazetta that made me realize that gaining healthy weight after anorexia was a beautiful and strong thing.”

Shadow Muse: Goodbye, Frank by Naamah Darling

Spectrum Fantastic Art: FRANK FRAZETTA (1928-2010) by Arnie Fenner, who writes:

Despite the numerous myths surrounding Frazetta (some perpetuated by zealous fans, some that were created by Frank and Ellie as marketing conceits), Frank was not a god. Everything did not come easily. Everything wasn’t a success. Not everything he said was Gospel and anyone who believed otherwise… didn’t know Frank.

He struggled. He had self-doubts. He had more than his share of disappointments in his life and every decision he made wasn’t the right one (and a few blew up in his face). By his own admission he was lazy and played more than he painted: contrast his body of work with that of his peers and his contention would seem to be true. Frazetta’s virtues were contrasted by his failings, his generosity sometimes blunted by his callousness. He masked his sensitivity with macho bravado, but when he hurt, the pain cut deep. As he said once, “When I’m down, Jesus, it’s hell.”

Toronto Star: Love letters: Frank Frazetta by Geoff Pevere

Wang-Dang-Doodles!: Frank Frazetta, R.I.P. by Rich Dannys

The Worlds of William Stout: Frank Frazetta 1928–2010 by William Stout, who writes:

Frank was a scrapper who grew up on the mean streets of Brooklyn. His talent revealed itself at an early age. Frank was like an artistic sponge with a photographic memory. Fortunately, he had Roy Krenkel and Al Williamson as friends in his formative teens and early 20’s. They gave Frank an incredible art education, using their vast collections to expose him to the finest art and illustration of the 19th and 20th centuries. Frazetta soaked up everything he was shown. Somehow he managed to absorb and filter all of this great art and have it subsequently come out through Frank’s brushes as pure Frazetta. I know it was hard work, but Frank made it look so damn natural and easy.

A Burning Designer: Six Part Series on Frazetta — Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6 — by Mark Astrella

BONUS LINKS:

American Art Archives: Frank Frazetta (1928 – 2010) — a gallery of comic covers and movie posters.

The Art History Archive: Frank Frazetta, Fantasy Legend by Charles Moffat — includes links to a large number of images stored on the Art History Archiver server.

Frank Frazetta — a large selection of famous images.

Booksteve’s Library: Frazetta PSAs — 1950’s — “Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree 1955” and “We Can Stop the Enemies of Youth,” posted by Steven “Booksteve” Thompson

Golden Age Comic Book Stories: Frank Frazetta: The 2 Canaveral Press Burroughs editions, posted by Mr. Door Tree

Golden Age Comic Book Stories: Frank Frazetta: Western art for Magazine Enterprises, Early 1950’s, posted by Mr. Door Tree

Museum Syndicate: Frank Frazetta, American Painter — online gallery of 114 works, which can be sorted by title or by date.

Pappy’s Golden Age Comics Blogzine: “Snowman,” Tally-Ho Comics #1, posted by Pappy — Frazetta’s professional debut?

Wang-Dang-Doodles!: Another Fritz “Funny Animal” Rarity… by Rich Dannys

Wang-Dang-Doodles!: Deconstructing the Frazetta Female by Rich Dannys

Wang-Dang-Doodles!: A Few More Frazetta Gems… by Rich Dannys

Wang-Dang-Doodles!: Frazetta’s 79th Birthday!! by Rich Dannys

Wang-Dang-Doodles!: I LOVES Me Dem “Funny Animals”! by Rich Dannys

Rest in Peace: Eleanor “Ellie” Frazetta

Documentaries · Jeffrey "Jeff" Catherine Jones · Look There

Look There: Jeffrey Jones Documentary in the Works

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Here’s a rough-cut trailer featuring parts of Michael Kaluta’s interview for Better Things: Life + Choices of Jeffrey Jones:

BONUS LINK:

Wrightson’s fascinating unpublished layouts for his section of The Studio (Dragon’s Dream, 1979) — added 03 May 2010, because it sort of relates to the conversation in the comments section of this post.

Art Collection · Comics · Ebay Win · Look Here · Rod Ruth

Look Here: “The Toodles” (7-23-57), with art by Rod Ruth

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Here’s a piece of original art, a daily dated 7-23-57, by Rod Ruth, from the comic strip The Toodle Family, a.k.a. The Toodles. The strip was written by Stanley and Betsy Baer and was drawn by Ruth from 1941 to 1958. It was then drawn by Pete Winter from 1958 to 1965. Apparently, besides The Toodles, Ruth was an illustrator for Amazing Stories and other Ziff-Davis pulps. Truth be told, I had never heard of either The Toodles or Rod Ruth before I noticed a series of ebay auctions for Ruth’s artwork, but I was happy to pay US$44.00 total (shipping included) US$38.00 total (shipping included; the next day, the seller gave me a partial refund on the shipping charge, presumably to bring it more into line with the actual cost) to add this lively and charming work from 53 years ago (!) to our collection.

I also recently won an ebay auction for a “Miss Peach” daily by Mell Lazarus, and let me tell you, that thing is HUGE! I love it, and I intend post a picture soon.

BONUS LINK:

News of Yore: Profile of the Baers

Frank Frazetta · Heads Up!

Heads Up: “The Complete Johnny Comet” by Frank Frazetta

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Vanguard Productions has just announced that, in August of this year, the company will release The Complete Johnny Comet by Frank Frazetta, the first volume in their “Vanguard Frazetta Classics Series.” According the news release, The Complete Johnny Comet “will feature Frazetta’s newspaper strip shot from the artist’s personal proofs, ensuring the best reproduction ever for this material. The 224-page, 8.5” x 11” glossy b/w hardcover will retail for US$39.95.”

Back in May, when the new publishing deal with Frazetta was first announced, Vanguard founder J. David Spurlock gave Frazetta fans a tantalizing glimpse of what they could expect see in the coming years. “We are very excited about launching a line of Frazetta books under the new Vanguard Frazetta Classics brand.” said Spurlock. “The line will include a series of volumes collecting Frazetta’s comics work in top quality book format,” said Spurlock, “Other Vanguard Frazetta Classics will include a new edition of the 1998 hit, Frazetta – The Definitive Reference, a richly illustrated index of every Frazetta work ever published; a Frank Frazetta Sketchbook; and more–all in library-quality collections fully authorized by Frank Frazetta.”

Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Book/Magazine Covers (Jones) · Illustration Art · Jeffrey "Jeff" Catherine Jones · Look Here

Look Here: Two (more) covers by Jeffrey Jones

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Human figures dwarfed by the universe, blue/green-and-gold/orange colour schemes… I wonder… is Jeffrey Jones edging into Paul Lehr territory in the following covers? I think so!

Click here to view all of the covers by Jeffrey Jones that I’ve posted so far.

Keywords: Seetee Ship, Strangers in Paradise.

Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Illustration Art · Look Here · Sanjulian

Look Here: WORMS OF THE EARTH cover by Sanjulian

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Although Spanish artist Sanjulian (born Manuel Pérez Clemente) is, perhaps, primarily known to older comics readers as a fan-favourite cover artist for Warren publications such as Creepy, Eerie, and Vampirella, he has, in his long career, worked for a wide variety of publishing houses, advertising agencies, movie studios, and so on. What I particularly liked about Sanjulian’s fantasy art from the 1970s was his mastery of classical oil-painting technique, his solid draftsmanship, and his versatility and reliability as an image maker. Here’s a sample of the artist’s work for Ace Books, from 1979, scanned from the library of yours truly [along with a cover from 1988 — see explanation below]:

And yet, as much as I appreciate solid, sexy covers like Worms of the Earth, and generally admire Sanjulian’s early work as a fantasy cover artist, I can’t recommend the only book of Sanjulian’s art currently in print in English.

Sanjulian: Master Visionary, Volume One (SQP Inc., 2001) is filled with uninspired black-and-white compositions, mostly in pencil, that, like a lot of Sanjulian’s commercial works from the 1980s and beyond, seldom if ever manage to transcend their photographic reference material. Yes, there are eight pages of colour in the middle of the book, but none of the selected paintings come close to the best that Sanjulian had to offer, back in the day. Which is to say, in short, the whole project is a major disappointment!

Sanjulian deserves better.

———-

UPDATE (19 April 2010):

For the purposes of comparison, I have just added a sample of a toothless Sanjulian cover from 1988 to this post, and I have to say, I really and truly find it hard to believe that The White Serpent is by the same artist as Worms of the Earth. The decorative, Alphonse-Mucha-meets-stained-glass Art Nouveau style of The White Serpent, with its snaking jumbles of imagery interrupted by snaking black pseudo “lead lines,” will be familiar to the readers of a certain strain of brick-like romance novels, and no doubt covers in that style sell a lot of books (or why would publishers inflict them on book buyers!?), but man, everything about The White Serpent, from its rainbow colour palette to its unctuous paint surface, is so gooey, so cloying, so like pure corn syrup, straight from the jar, jazzed up with food colouring… unlike Mucha’s original confections, which were so perfectly formed, so sweetly balanced, so like the best kind of candy! Or maybe I’m just cranky this morning…

Art Collection · Comics · Ebay Win · Look Here · Samm Schwartz

Look Here: “Color Me True Love,” with art by Samm Schwartz

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Here’s another selection from our stash of original comic art. It’s a complete short story from Jughead #321, with art by Samm Schwartz. My apologies in advance for the quality of the images; they were shot with an older digital camera under conditions that I ought to have controlled more carefully than I did.

(Click the images to enlarge them, as usual. I don’t own the cover artwork, but I’ve included a JPEG of the original comic, with cover by Stan Goldberg, for fun — and contrast!)

I bought the story on ebay a long time ago. It was in a lot with a complete Betty and Veronica story by Stan Goldberg. As I recall, the cost of the two stories together was less than US$100, shipping included. Maybe I’ll post the Goldberg another time… though I must admit, I’m not really a Goldberg fan…

When I was a youngster, my favourite “Archie” artists — even before I knew their names — were Samm Schwartz and Harry Lucey. In a corner of the comics world dominated by lacklustre DeCarlo clones, Schwartz and Lucey each took the seemingly inflexible “Archie” house style and made it his own. Schwartz’s work was cool, crisp, refined; Lucey’s, affable, energetic, theatrical. Jughead was never so self-assured, so unflappable, as when Schwartz brought him to life; Archie and the gang, never so determined, or so frazzled, as when Lucey fed them through the wringer. With Dan DeCarlo already in the Eisner Hall of Fame, and Bob Montana, the co-creator of Archie who drew the Riverdale gang for more than 30 years, named to the Hall of Fame for 2010, can Samm Schwartz and Harry Lucey be far behind? In my humble opinion, whether it happens sooner or later, it’s inevitable.

BONUS LINKS:

“It’s the Chicago South Side Choir Society! It’s their annual uplift cruise for Meditation Week!” — includes scans of “The Bad Old Days” and “In Search of Sanity,” both drawn by Samm Schwartz.

A Closer Look at Samm Schwartz — includes a scan of the story “Crowning Glory,” with art by you-know-who.

Samm Schwartz Addenda — further thoughts by Jaime J. Weinman, the author of “A Closer Look at Samm Schwartz.”

A Few Words about Samm Schwartz, My Father

Samm Schwartz Photo Album

A Loan and Blue — from 1963, with unusually hyper-kinetic art by Samm Schwartz; in later years, Schwartz’s Jughead never got out of control like this! It’s like watching Bugs Bunny melt down.

Little Archie by Samm Schwartz — wow!

Tippy Teen: “Sure Cure Go-Go” — with art by Samm Schwartz.

Art Collection · Book/Magazine Covers (All) · Drawing · Illustration Art · Look Here

Look Here: Mini-Comic Art by Jordan Crane

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Here’s another piece of original comic art from our collection: a single pencilled-and-inked panel (image size: 11.4 cm wide x 12.5 cm high) from an out-of-print mini-comic, The Hand of Gold, by Jordan Crane. (You can read the comic online right here.) I bought the artwork back in September 2005, via Jordan Crane’s Comic Art Collective page, for US$20.00 plus $6.00 shipping. The artwork arrived with a short thank-you note handwritten by Jordan on the back of a card (13.9 x 18.4 cm) with an original design silkscreened on the front. I’ve included both the black-and-white artwork and the notecard image here for you, dear reader, to examine in detail, along with the first three covers of Jordan’s terrific one-man anthology comic, Uptight, published by Fantagraphics.

You can buy screen prints by Jordan Crane from the Reddingk.com site. Click here to see what’s currently available.

Finally, I just have to say: Jordan’s elaborately layered, wrap-around, die-cut dustjacket design for the hardcover edition of Michael Chabon’s essay collection, Maps and Legends (McSweeney’s, 2008), is gorgeous! Watch for it, currently remaindered at a Chapters near you!

Heads Up! · Illustration Art

Heads Up: Robert Fawcett, The Illustrator’s Illustrator

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Here’s a book, currently in production at Auad Publishing, that discerning admirers of illustration art will want to watch out for:

ROBERT FAWCETT:
THE ILLUSTRATOR’S ILLUSTRATOR

Illustration fans everywhere have impatiently waited for a book on the legendary Robert Fawcett, known as “The Illustrator’s Illustrator.” At last their dream is about to come true.

The first book on the life and work of Fawcett is under development by Auad Publishing, scheduled for release in early spring 2010. Walt Reed, who knew Fawcett personally, has written an insightful introduction and David Apatoff, a foremost authority on Fawcett, has contributed the text.

The book will contain over a hundred color illustrations and numerous black and white drawings. These are images which have long been out of circulation and are largely unavailable today. Many of the images in the book were made from the originals which have been hidden away for decades by private collectors so the quality will be superior to the images published in magazines many decades ago.

Best of all, the 12 Fawcett Sherlock Holmes illustrations will be together in a book for the first time, some taken from the original paintings. A great deal of passion has been devoted to this project.

Everyone who is familiar with Fawcett’s work will surely want a copy, and those who are unfamiliar with his work will enjoy seeing what they have been missing. Stay tuned to this website as we bring you the latest on the progress of this marvelous book.

IN PRODUCTION!

BONUS LINK:

Robert Fawcett – A Set on Flickr – compiled by Leif Peng, whose blog, Today’s Inspiration, you need to bookmark right now!